Review: Cappello shines as cool Cline in 'Always'

Patsy Cline was a huge star in the 1950s and early '60s, a pioneer in country music, crossing into pop and rockabilly, singing honest lyrics written by such troubadours as Willie Nelson and Hank Williams.

HARWICH -- Patsy Cline was a huge star in the 1950s and early '60s, a pioneer in country music, crossing into pop and rockabilly, singing honest lyrics written by such troubadours as Willie Nelson and Hank Williams.

In “Always…Patsy Cline” at Harwich Junior Theatre, singer Laura Cappello completely captures the essence of Cline's cool, measured intensity, while going well beyond mere replication, making her own mark of terrific musicianship on Cline's immortal songs, bringing her own charm, great looks and real star quality to the piece.

Whether you're a fan of country-western and of Cline or never heard of her -- this is an evening filled with variety in song, from classic hits of broken-hearted love, like “Crazy” -- to moving lullabies, to rocking the house with “Stupid Cupid,” and Capello has the range and control to deliver, from tender to hot, smoky to brassy. (Sign this woman up to a recording contract, someone, please!)

Based on a true story, we see Cline's career and life unfold through the eyes of the memory of her biggest fan, Louise Seger, as Seger goes from insisting that her local DJ play the new singer's records, to actually meeting Cline when she's becoming a star -- and making friends with her, down-home girl to down-home girl.

Seger, played broadly by Suzette Hutchinson, has got the moves, and the long-legged bod, and kind of Minnie-Pearl-sassy-Southern attitude to make her comic strutting a good contrast with Cline's warm, easy humor. They are nice foils for each other; you believe they really like one another. A high point of their bonding is late-night girl talk in Seger's kitchen as Cline sings “Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray.”

Capello is backed up by three wonderful musicians of the Bodacious Bobcats Band on stage with her: guitarist Dick "Bob" Stocks; drummer David "Bob" Silver; and musical and stage director on keyboard, Bob (Robert) "Bob" Wilder, in his Grand Ole Opry best. The costumes by Robin McLaughlin are of themselves a reason to go see this; red cowgirl boots and shirts, sequined sweaters and hairstyles just right for the timeframe of Cline's career, which was cut short by tragedy. The interaction with the audience is amusing and lively, and the sound level is perfect, a rare thing these days -- not too loud, not too soft, easy to listen to; you can hear every word and note without going deaf.

My only quibbles, the script is fairly expository, and the end a bit anti-climactic -- yet it works anyway; and Hutchinson is sometimes a little outside the role, acting it, not living it -- when Cline's tragedy happens, her reaction is pretty offhand, when it should wrench your heart. But in the old fashioned theater with the nostalgic 1950s sets of kitchen, nightclub and juke box, designed by James Byrne, this is totally swell entertainment for a summer's night on Olde Cape Cod. No wonder it was brought back by popular demand!